Europe – Page 13 – Slugger O'Toole

Euro crisis: “categorically there will be absolutely no bailout next year in Ireland”

Pete Baker on May 30, 2011, 4:44 pm

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A series of Irish government ministers have been clarifying their position after the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, appeared to suggest that a second bail-out could be required for Ireland next year. Minister for Finance Michael Noonan “The programme is due to run until the end of 2013 and the start of 2014 and there is sufficient money in the programme to meet all eventualities so categorically there will be absolutely no bailout next year in Ireland,” Mr Noonan stated. “The …

Euro crisis: “Politicians have become sheep, not leaders”

Pete Baker on May 28, 2011, 5:05 pm

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In today’s Irish Times Paul Gillespie returns to the topic of the political dynamics in play at European and national levels during this euro crisis. From the Irish Times article Ireland is doubly unlucky. Not only is France prepared to play hardball, but there is also no good reason for it to calculate its interests are being damaged by Ireland’s corporation tax rate to any real extent. It is impossible to get a good explanation from any French person as …

Euro crisis: “everyone thought everyone else would back down at the last minute…”

Pete Baker on May 25, 2011, 7:30 pm

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Writing in the Guardian, Paul Mason covers similar territory to my post last night [But in a more coherent manner? – Ed]. You might very well think that… ANYhoo… He opens with this In the summer of 1914 the Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig was on holiday in Ostend with fellow writers and artists. One afternoon, noticing the sudden appearance of uniformed soldiers on the promenade, they buttonholed an officer: “Why all this stupid marching around?” It was 3 August: war was …

Euro crisis: “Europe has been producing its usual cacophony of voices in the past few days”

Pete Baker on May 24, 2011, 9:20 pm

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BBC Europe editor, Gavin Hewitt, has been looking at Spain in the aftermath of defeat for the prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s ruling socialist party in municipal and regional elections. From Gavin Hewitt But nerves are back. In weekend elections the governing Socialist party took a thrashing. Even in strongholds like Seville and Castilla-La Mancha it was defeated. There is a pattern emerging in Europe. Given a chance, the people turn on the incumbents. In Spain national elections do not …

Volcanic ash cloud: “We can’t rule out disruption”

Pete Baker on May 23, 2011, 5:01 pm

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Despite initial confidence that there would be little or no disruption caused by the ash cloud from the ‘significant eruption’ of the Iceland’s Grímsvötn volcano, aviation authorities in the UK and in Ireland seem to be becoming less certain that will be the case. Video from Russia Today on YouTube. From the Irish Times report The IAA said that while it did not expect any flight disruptions within the next 48 hours the picture could change later in the week. “We don’t …

“Hungover people do not go out and riot.”

Pete Baker on May 22, 2011, 4:31 pm

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Writing in The Observer David Sharrock has been wondering “why are there no barricades on the streets of Dublin?” For his part, Tóibín thinks that all economists are mad. But he can agree with Philip Lane, professor of international macroeconomics at Trinity College Dublin. The two certainly share an explanation of the public mood, this sense of confusion and despair that is not being converted into street protests. According to Lane, shame is at the root of the Irish reaction. …

“Now there’s the healthy option of simply getting on with the neighbours.”

Pete Baker on May 21, 2011, 11:12 pm

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In contrast to John’s northern cynicism, in the Irish Times Fintan O’Toole is optimism personified on the impact of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland [Keep the noise down in the attic, please – Ed]. Indeed. From the Irish Times article The combination of all of these factors made the visit an oddly liberating occasion. No one would have thought that the British queen could free Ireland, but she did help to free us from the crippling insecurities of …

The Heineken Cup – an Irish success story.

ItwasSammyMcNally on May 20, 2011, 10:50 pm

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This is the sixteenth year of the Heineken Cup and so far we have had 4 Irish victories. If Leinster beat Northampton in Cardiff’s Millennium stadium tomorrow(Saturday kick off 5pm) that will make it 4 Irish victories in the competition in the last 6 years- two each for Munster and Leinster – an incredible record. Unfortunately, this season, a resurgent Ulster exited to Northampton in the quarter finals, the first time they had qualified for the knock out stages since …

“I’m sure the Queen, who must feel a bit constrained in her day job, will understand the tug.”

Pete Baker on May 20, 2011, 3:19 pm

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The Guardian’s Michael White covers a lot of ground in his post at the Big G’s Politics blog – including the crisis in the eurozone. But here’s a, lengthy, excerpt to start with. If Gaelic had a word for chutzpah (perhaps it does?), the Sinn Féin president, now an Irish TD (MP), would win the chutzpah prize every time. He was on his best behaviour for the Queen’s trip – even he can see it has been a modest success. …

Euro crisis: “When it becomes serious, you have to lie.”?

Pete Baker on May 19, 2011, 3:55 pm

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Another article, to add to those noted by Mick, on the wider economic and political considerations being argued in the eurozone. At the Guardian, Nuno Monteiro and Eduardo Sousa warn While a growing number of analysts recognise the likelihood of sovereign-debt defaults across Europe’s periphery in the next few years, the continent’s political and financial elites continue to see restructuring as the third rail of financial options. Despite all signs that the euro may be set on an implosion course, the EU …

Euro crisis: “It would raise incredible doubts about our credibility if we simply were to change the rules…”

Pete Baker on May 17, 2011, 3:45 pm

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With EU finance ministers pondering the future for Greece, and European officials publicly disagreeing on the possiblity of the rescheduling/restructuring of sovereign debt, Frau Bundeskanzerlin has decreed that there will be no sovereign default in the euro zone before 2013. As ministers prepared to tackle the increasingly precarious financial situation in Greece, Dr Merkel made clear her resistance to any debt restructuring by the country. Addressing students in Berlin, Dr Merkel said private sovereign creditors should not bear losses until …

Euro crisis: “This requires a political as well as an economic understanding of the dynamics in play at European and national levels”

Pete Baker on May 14, 2011, 8:57 pm

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In identifying three alternative European solutions, rather than the “lethal injection” of unilateral action by Ireland, Paul Gillespie in the Irish Times highlights the wider issues in play. IRELAND BADLY needs a strategy to handle the euro zone crisis, rather than reacting defensively to all its latest twists and turns. This requires a political as well as an economic understanding of the dynamics in play at European and national levels. Most economists here are ill-equipped to provide this because they take …

EU crisis: “the question is whether all this can be kept under control.”

Pete Baker on May 13, 2011, 9:13 pm

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EU leaders will discuss the proposed revision of the Schengen agreement at a summit next month, as prompted by France and Italy – although the Guardian reported that, at a meeting of EU interior ministers, “15 of the 22 EU states which had signed up to Schengen supported the move, with only four resisting”. Meanwhile, the European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, has written a strongly worded letter to the Danish prime minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, warning against the Danish Government’s proposals to unilaterally re-introduce …

“We can’t separate Denmark’s announcement from the wider context of what we’ve been seeing the past few weeks”

Pete Baker on May 11, 2011, 11:02 pm

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Another example of domestic political pressure potentially impinging on the “European project”. This time in Denmark, a member of the Schengen zone, where the government has announced the re-introduction of border guards and spot checks “designed to fight crime and illegal immigration”. From the Wall Street Journal report In Denmark, the issue of tighter border control has become a political bargaining chip. The governing center-right minority government, which consists of a coalition between the Conservatives and liberal-right party Venstre, wants to …

Robert Peston: “it will be squeaky bum time in government buildings all over Europe.”

Pete Baker on May 11, 2011, 2:54 pm

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The BBC’s business editor, and still everyone’s hero, Robert Peston, identifies the reasons why Europe continues to prescribe medication, rather than opting for untested, and risky, surgery. At least for now. From the Peston’s Picks blog There seem to be three reasons. First, in Germany, it is apparently politically more acceptable to provide rescue finance to Greece directly than to rescue German banks that foolishly and greedily bought Greek debt for its relatively high yield. Second, a Greek debt restructuring would …

RTÉ on hosting Eurovision 2012: “that’s a bridge we’ll cross on Sunday if we need to.”

Pete Baker on May 10, 2011, 10:39 pm

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Despite the BBC report headline, RTE’s chosen representative, Jedward, are not the “favourites” for Eurovision 2011. That position still clearly belongs to France. Although, to be fair, Jedward’s odds have shortened since I bookmarked that earlier today… RTÉ, on the other hand, would probably be quite content with a French result – judging by the comments from Julian Vignoles, head of RTÉ’s Eurovision delegation, in the Irish Times report. Julian Vignoles, head of RTÉ’s Eurovision delegation, enthused that this is “the best chance we’ve had …

Euro crisis: “This is Europe’s awful dilemma. The patient is the euro.”

Pete Baker on May 10, 2011, 3:47 pm

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Taoiseach Enda Kenny has warned that Dr Doom Morgan Kelly’s prescription for Ireland would deliver “a lethal injection to the Irish economy“. At the Guardian’s Ireland Business blog, Stephen Kinsella, in part one of a two-part post, identifies some of the implications of “an immediate balancing of the books”. The fiscal problem is pretty clear. There is a big gap between what Ireland spends, and what she makes. Including promissory notes, the Irish government has been taking in roughly €53.3bn and spending …

Euro crisis: “The “European project” won’t go quietly into the night…”

Pete Baker on May 9, 2011, 3:03 pm

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Whilst the Irish Government waits for “the right time” to play whatever cards they think they have, Greece is still in the vanguard of the PIGS. As the BBC Europe editor, Gavin Hewitt, points out To the issue that caused a tremor in the markets on Friday: that Greece may opt to leave the euro. It has been met with fierce denials. For the moment it seems a highly unlikely option. And yet in German circles it is being discussed. In …

Irish bailout fate mixed up in the bigger chaos, with no solution in sight

Brian Walker on May 8, 2011, 11:48 pm

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Ireland Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan has been goaded into a reply by the scathing attack on the Irish bailout terms from Morgan Kelly ak.a. Dr Doom. Not much of substance in his RTE interview far; but presumably he knows something we don’t. We are keeping our options open,” Honohan said. “We have a number of cards, we don’t have many cards, in these negotiations. There is a right time to play your most important cards,” he said. Hopes of …

“border control and Schengen governance need to be strengthened to prevent irregular migration”

Pete Baker on May 5, 2011, 9:22 pm

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In the Irish Times Arthur Beesley reports on the European Commission’s recommendations following France and Italy’s call for reform of the Schengen Agreement. From the Irish Times Formal legislative proposals to revise the Schengen system are likely within the next two months, according a communique on migration [Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström] issued yesterday. Her paper also calls for the relaxation in emergency situations of the rules under which applications for asylum must be processed in the EU country of first …